May 2002 Week 4

When you're fifty, you start thinking about things you haven't thought about before. I used to think getting old was about vanity, but actually it's about losing people you love. Getting wrinkles is trivial.

Joyce Carol Oates:

Monday  May 20 , 2002

...and slept till 0545. I turned on the Weather channel and there were storms all around Fresno and storms predicted for all points south... I grabbed a McD breakfast and took off. There were big storm clouds on either side of 99 and clear blue sky above me all the way to Bakersfield,. when I got there I could see lightning over Tehachapi so I couldn't go that way, I kept on toward Gorman, after clearing the mountains on Rte 138 I could see another storm over Lancaster I tried to beat it to Palmdale by heading south and east every chance I got and I almost made it. It caught me in Palmdale and poured all the way into Acton, I got in about 1045 this morning, … the suit worked perfectly and the only thing that got wet were my feet… it is now noon-thirty and it is still raining.

I picked up the kids and took them to see "Spiderman"... what a good movie... lots of fun, a little bit harsh in spots, people actually die... but good fun too, and a love story to boot... Toby Mcguire is absolutely the last one I would have chosen for the roll, if it had even occurred to me... but he was really good and extremely convincing... the script was uncompromising in it's apparent resolve to play it straight... a good decision... the bad guy (William Defoe) was a little over the top silly but pretty much a total Jeckel & Hyde villain.

When I got home Christy went to a meeting at her church...

Tuesday  May 21 , 2002

It just dawned on me that I have been gone alone at least one day for the past four weekends... Arizona, Ojai, Glen Helen and Sacramento... Cool. I feel a little guilty about it though, It's just that... awww hell, I'm starting to write about something I don't understand... should-shouldn't...wants-needs...  right-wrong... good-bad... irrelevant... those things can only be determined in retrospect I think. I believe I need to get some one-on-one time with myself, as long as I believe that it must be true...

Lowell Hilsinger came out... $3.5k to do the septic... give or take...won't be able to get to it till first part of June...

Car is at T&J's to get it's coolant hoses replaced, there is a leak somewhere and we can't find it...  $191.00 preformed hoses are expensive... I guess...

Christy dropped me off at Acton Market and delivered Christians back-pack...

I have to go to Lancaster to get a copy of the Plot Plan from the County Building and whatever... pain in the butt...

Took Mike and "B" to Cost-Co, Kaiser and Best Buy... I bought a new scanner... HP 5470C Expensive SOB too... I can scan text and pictures OK... I need to figure out the FAX... it's late

Wednesday May 22 , 2002

...  I went to the Office of Building and Safety to get the Septic Sketch, I was told to ask for the "Plot Plan" but when I did the little clerk whatis person rolled her eyes and said why I said I was considering a driveway and the contractor said I needed a plot plan to find the leach lines. She said condescendingly you want a "Septic Sketch", a Plot Plan is a blah -Blah - Blah (I couldn't care less)...  I smiled and said "Fine give me one of those" She did.. I left... cost me nothing. I FAX'd it to Lowell hopefully he will get back to me soon.

Monica was sick today... Asthma... About 11:00 she was dressed up in Mikes pants and Christians sweatshirt I took some pictures of her... she is an imp... Cindy and Autumn put on a show for me...

I went out to check out the clean up job Mike did around where the work on the septic will be done. Not bad... I found s bucket of brown muck over by the the propane tank... It smelled funny... like pepper... I dumped it in the dumpster and asked Mike if he knew what it was he said it was an experiment. After some interrogation I found out he had taken about 60 cans, bottles, tubes and vials of Watkins spices, soups, lotions and sauces and poured them in the bucket and turned it into garbage... I figure he ruined about $800.00 worth of products for no reason at all. He gave no thought at all to what he was doing, it amused him. I am reaching the end of my rope... where he is concerned. I am completely at a loss as to how to handle him... completely. We talk to the Psychologists and psychiatrists and the counselors and any one with an opinion and they give us their litany of things to do and attitudes to assume an excuses and it's all crap, Mike is without a conscience, he feels remorse only when he is caught and only because he was caught he cares about no one but himself, the rest of the world exists to amuse him... I am going to recommend that he be sent to a residential facility the next time he steps out of line... I can't risk his behavior jeopardizing my family or my future... he needs to behave or get out.

I went to Canyon Country to attend the "Thank You Banquet" Santa Clarita threw for all the volunteers who worked at the Cowboy Poetry & Music Festival... it is a nice gesture... I talked with Tony for a while, he mentioned that he had heard from Bruce Stewart. I used to work with him back in the 80's... he is in Arizona I think... I got his E-mail address.

Thursday  May 23 , 2002

Last night at about 2130 I was walking to my car to take video tapes back to the local rental store and I saw someone in a red pickup truck going pretty quick down the hill next to my property... he slammed on the brakes at my driveway and I saw a brown dog in the headlights run across in front of the truck, not one of mine   ... the truck backed up and turned up my driveway, it took me a moment to see that he was chasing Blackie. I opened the car door and when the light came on he must have seen it because he stopped and backed back down the driveway. Now, if someone should happen to run over one of my dogs because it runs in front of their car on the the road I'd just consider that "natural selection" but if it turns around and chases it up my driveway that's another story... It turns out that the owner of the red Ford Crew-Cab pickup truck is the new neighbor that moved into the Goodman's house... this is an unfortunate development... The Goodman's were a strange bunch but, like most of us up here, they kept their lunacy to themselves, I don't need to have to deal with someone who would chase down a dog when the dog is on his own property... the damn road they are driving down is an easement on my property... I realize that means I don't have any control over it but still... it ought to count for something.

Today is Mikes IEP... bad day... well... hectic anyway. Monica was in bad shape with Asthma again last night, Christy made a 9:45 appointment for her, then she left for her English Class. I got the kids to school and was gearing up to take Christian to the Parkers for Home schooling, Mokie to the Dr. for her asthma, and Mike to his Re-admittance IEP... when the phone rang, it was Dianne at the Acton School saying "You will have to come and pick up "B" because he brought a knife to school."  Damn...

Picked up "B" at Acton School...Delivered Autumns backpack to Meadowlark...Dropped off Christian at the Parkers...Met Christy at Kaiser and delivered Mokie... I left Kaiser when it was time for Mike's IEP at Desert Pathways...The IEP started late because one of the kids was acting out... bad...Christy arrived at Desert Pathways... and we started the IEP. I left the IEP to go pick up Autumn, she had a "Minimum Day"I spotted a fire, from where I was it looked like it could be at our house... it wasn't it was about a mile to the west of us on the other side of Red Rover on Shannon Valley Road...I picked up Autumn and took the kids to McDonalds... Christy came home from the IEP and Mike has been reinstated.... I went out and picked up Cindy and got the mail and went over to see the fire, it looks to be burning in just about the same place it was last year... a little further West.

Jerry sent this regarding the accident we were almost in when I was in Sacramento last Sunday:

And here is the rest of the story.  Sorry, Pete but I don't think he was on a cell phone.

Witnesses chase hit-run suspect

By Jerry Miles FONN Staff Writer  (Really Mark Burgan -- Bee Staff Writer)

Published 2:15 a.m. PDT Sunday, May 19, 2002

Citizens who chased a driver after a hit-and-run incident in Folsom on Saturday afternoon played a key role in the suspect's eventual arrest, according to the Folsom Police Department.

Before suspect Richard Earl Morris Jr., 36, possibly of Lodi, was stopped, he reportedly hit four other vehicles, caused several injuries, nearly rammed a police car and had as many as five citizens in pursuit.

As Lt. Bob Repar recounted the events, Morris was traveling east on Greenback Lane about 2:50 p.m. when his car struck a motorcyclist from behind and then careened into the rear of a Ford Mustang. Both of the struck drivers received minor injuries.

The errant driver then fled the scene in a 17-minute chase that was spearheaded by witnesses who took up the pursuit in their own cars, Repar said. The citizens used cell phones to relay the suspect's location, he said.

At the intersection of Greenback Lane and Folsom-Auburn Road, Morris struck two additional vehicles as he forced his way through the intersection, injuring another motorist, Repar said. The fleeing driver fled the scene again, he said.  This was our part.

As a responding officer approached, Morris reportedly swerved head-on at the patrol car in the opposite lane, forcing the officer to take evasive action to avoid the impending collision.

The fleeing driver ultimately slammed on his brakes on Dean Way and stopped, tried to hide the alcohol in his car, and attempted to get out when officers arrested him, Repar said.

Morris was booked on suspicion of felony hit and run, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer and felony driving under the influence, Repar said.

The most erroneous stories are those we think we know best - and therefore never scrutinize or question.

Friday  May 24 , 2002

I have the Parker Kids, Cory and Shon, over here today, they will be spending the night.

Christy is gone shopping for religious paraphernalia, she will be gone most of the day, when she gets back she will take off again to teach her evening D Rate class.

They behaved very well... I am getting sick... I feel like hell... started feeling bad about an hour ago and it's 2230 and it's coming on like gang-busters... sinus, sneezing, headache, chest, breathing... damn... I'm falling apart!

Been sparing with Jerry off and on all day about one thing and another, another immovable object verses irresistible force situation. ...

Saturday  May 25 , 2002

E-Mail to ESPN2:

Regarding Saturdays AMA Motocross Hangtown Classic...I had pretty much planned my day around watching the Hangtown Classic on ESPN2. The 250's were supposed to air at 1030 and 125's at 1300 (PST) You were also showing some sort of Lacrosse tournament prior to the races the first game ran over by 10 minutes...so, in the second Moto of the 250 race 10 minutes was clipped from the race with no explanation. There was a cut for a commercial when they came back to the race after the commercial Ricky Carmichael somehow went from 4th to first.

There were two overtimes in Lacrosse prior to the AMA 125cc race scheduled for 15:00 the race finally started at 15:30 and they cut the whole second Moto... A come from behind win by James Stewart may have been the best race of the season... really... really upset me...Please schedule your Saturday taped coverage of AMA Motocross so it won't get bumped or otherwise butchered by live coverage of obscure sporting events like Ivy League Lacrosse.

Thank you

Pete Daggett

I rode to town to give Mike his medicine... he is at the Landis's he has been there since 1800 last night. Then I went out to Palmdale and rode around without purpose

Christy took the kids to 1000 Trails

I am feeling sick again... any time I get any kind of chest pain I get nervous... I almost took some Nitroglycerine last night, but it seemed to be getting better.

I watched "Vanilla Sky", Tom Cruise, Penelope Cruz, Curt Russell... unusual movie, I liked it, I don't know why. Rough language, some sex... it got very weird but there were hints about what was going on, unfortunately I didn't realize the hints were hints until the summation at the end of the movie.

Sunday  May 26 , 2002

I'm so hot I could eat a cow!

Monica Daggett, 5/26/2002

I used to love to watch the Indy 500, until a few years back the only Indy races I had missed were in 1963 and 64 while I was in the Pacific in the employ of Uncle Sam's Navy... I tried to watch it this morning but it was pretty damn boring... I had only heard of three or four drivers Andretti, Unser and such and could find nothing going on in the race to care about .

I will try to tape the Motorcycle races from 0130 to 0400 tonight... (tomorrow morning)...